The present invention relates generally to computer network communication systems and, more specifically, to providing multipath fiber channel over ethernet networks.
Fiber channel over ethernet (FCoE) is a standard developed for creating converged networks combining fiber channel communications conventionally used for storage area networks (SANs) with ethernet communications conventionally used for local area network (LANs). The FCoE protocol encapsulates fiber channel (FC) frames within ethernet frames to integrate the FC frames into the ethernet data stream while preserving the conventional format of the FC frames independent of the ethernet forwarding scheme. This allows an evolutionary approach towards input/output (I/O) consolidation that preserves all fiber channel constructs when FC frames are transmitted over ethernet networks. The existing latency, security, and traffic management attributes of the conventional FC infrastructure are therefore maintained to preserve existing investments in fiber channel tools, training, and SANs.
FCoE recognizes FC as the dominant storage protocol in the data center while ethernet remains the dominant LAN protocol. FCoE gives customers a viable solution for integrating FC standard SANs with ethernet standard LANs without having to abandon or modify either standard. FCoE enables the consolidation of both SANs and ethernet traffic onto a common converged network adapter (CNA), reducing the ever growing number of adapters required. FCoE therefore simplifies customer I/O environments by converging fiber and ethernet networks while avoiding the need for another, separate protocol for I/O consolidation.